Nightmarish final words of grandmother, 56, who fell to her death down NYC manhole after parking Mercedes outside Cartier: Eyewitness reveals horrifying new details about plunge and awful aftermath

By NIC WHITE, US SENIOR INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER Published: 18:53, 19 May 2026 | Updated: 18:53, 19 May 2026 A would-be rescuer has shared the distressing final moments of a grandmother who fell to her death down a New York City manhole as she stepped out of her Mercedes.  Fire safety director Carlton Wood was on his way to work about 11:20pm on Monday when he saw Donike Gocaj, 56, plunge into the hole.  'I saw her step out and close the door, she took one step forward and fell straight through the manhole, just disappeared into the ground,' Wood told the Daily Mail.  Gocaj, from Westchester County, fell 10ft into the drain seconds after parking outside Cartier's flagship NYC store on East 52nd Street in Manhattan. Wood said he ran over and heard Gocaj screaming 'I'm dying, I'm dying' over and over as she lay injured at the bottom of the hole. 'She was sitting down in steaming hot puddle of water with her legs forward and looking up, just begging for help,' he said. Wood called 911 as other witnesses tried to lower a man into the hole by his arms so Gocaj could grab his feet and be hauled out. But by the time Wood got off the phone a few minutes later and helped hold the brave rescuer, it was clear Gocaj was just too deep for them to rescue.  A 56-year-old woman died in New York City's Fifth Avenue on Monday night after parking her car beside an open manhole and falling into it moments after stepping out of the vehicle Donike Gocaj (pictured left with her daughter), who is from Westchester County, just north of Manhattan, fell 10ft into the drain below outside the Cartier flagship store 'Someone got a ladder from their car, but it was too big to fit in the hole,' Wood said of another rescue attempt. By the time paramedics and FDNY arrived, Gocaj had lost consciousness.  Firefighters took about 20 minutes to get Gocaj out, and Wood said her legs were black and bloodied like they had been badly burned. There were no signs of life as Gocaj was taken away on a stretcher and she was pronounced dead at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The manhole cover was lying about 15ft away from the hole, and Wood said there was no warning about the deadly hazard. 'There were no cones, no barricades, no signs. She wasn’t on her phone and didn’t seem distracted at all,' he said. 'It was dark and unfortunately she just didn’t see the hole. it could have happened to anyone.' Gocaj's family also insisted there was no warning about the open hole and demanded to know how it was able to left uncovered. Fire safety director Carlton Wood was on his way to work on East 52nd Street in Manhattan about 11.20pm on Monday when he saw her fall Safety workers covered the manhole with a metal grate and erected barriers and cones around the scene There were no signs of life as Gocaj was taken away on a stretcher and she was pronounced dead at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center  New York City baked in sweltering 86f weather on Monday, sparking speculation about whether the hot weather may have caused the manhole cover to pop off by itself.  The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner will determine Gocaj's cause of death.  Disturbing photos from the scene show the victim's car still parked, with the manhole just to the left of the driver's door. The manhole was covered by a metal grate by workers and barriers and cones erected around the scene. Why the manhole was uncovered is unclear, as is if any work was being conducted in the hours before Gocaj fell. City regulations mandate that any uncovered openings on the street be barricaded and clearly marked with flags, lights, or signs.    Contractors must ensure any manholes being worked on are temporarily covered outside of working hours for pedestrian and driver safety.  Gocaj with her daughter and two of her grandsons Gocaj's family (pictured with her son) insisted there was no warning about the open hole and demanded to know how it was able to left uncovered Gocaj was screaming 'I'm dying, I'm dying' over and over as she lay injured at the bottom of the hole Con Edison, which maintains the tens of thousands of manholes in the city, said it was investigating why the manhole was open. 'We are deeply saddened to confirm that a member of the public has died after falling into an open manhole. We are actively investigating how this occurred,' it said. 'Our thoughts are with the individual's family, and safety remains our top priority.' 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